Everything's Gonna Be Alright
by Indarae
Summary: A series of short stories revolving around the death of Cedric Diggory, taking place in sequential order immediately after the train scene in GoF. Ginny takes her turn!
1. The World Turned Over

Disclaimer: It's not mine, I just play.  
  
A/N: After a year full of death, both on the grand scale and close to home, it was time to sit down and recover. I'd love a few reviews, but as with all I write, it's for me.  
  
  
  
Everything's Gonna Be Alright  
  
  
  
Fred Weasley slipped away from his compartment and the commotion his twin, Ron, and the other two were making while playing games. He stepped over the unconscious and curse-riddled bodies of Draco Malfoy and his quiet cronies and walked down the corridor as softly as he could, finding an empty place to sit and think.  
  
There was so much to think about. He hadn't known Cedric all that well, even though they'd started Hogwarts together. Most of the first year was a blur to him anyways, the only real memory was of the Sorting Hat crying out "Gryffidor!" for both Fred and his twin brother, George. It had seemed all fun and games from there. Pretty Angelina had caught both of their eyes a few years later, and between fighting over her and fighting Slytherin in Quiddich, life seemed simple and grand.  
  
He'd never bothered to get to know Cedric Diggory. The man was a Hufflepuff, after all, and none of them were known for being incredibly bright. He'd known of him, popular among the girls as the Quiddich captain was. He'd hated him for the brief time when Angelina's eyes had been drawn to him during supper. But he really knew nothing about Cedric.  
  
There were so many questions, after that day, when Harry had reappeared, clutching the Triwizard Cup and Cedric's lifeless body. As Fred's mother had sobbed and hugged the legendary boy, Fred had taken a moment to meet his eyes. They were tired, dead, frightened. A hero wasn't supposed to look like that, after overcoming his foe.  
  
It was the look of shock on Cedric's face, frozen at his death, that had sent Fred into nightmares for the last few weeks, however. Harry had told the parents that Cedric certainly hadn't felt any pain. That the two had appeared, triumphant, holding the Cup which had turned out to be a Portkey. They were confused, but only for a brief second, until Voldemort ordered the death of Cedric, and the two dread words were uttered.  
  
What had Cedric thought, in that last moment, as he heard the words? Had he known his death was coming? Did he have any clue what would happen as the curse hit? Fred tried not to sob too loudly, afraid of being seen at his weakest moment. He hadn't known Cedric, but in his death, the Hufflepuff Captain had managed to touch him deeply.  
  
He heard a footstep in the corridor outside. Wiping his face with the back of his hand, he crept to the door and peered out. It was Cedric's girl, Cho, the Ravenclaw girl, though her back was to him. Her soft sobs were hard to hear over the commotion from some of the compartments on the train, but Fred knew it was her. He glanced back at the way she'd come from. The dining car, perhaps, where the cart of treats was kept? He followed her, catching a glimpse as she disappeared into her own compartment.  
  
Something was wrong. He thought he'd seen something metal glinting in her hand as the light caught it. Fred peeked around the doorway in time to hear her whisper something - a name, HIS name - before she rested the sharpness of the blade lightly on her wrist. Should he run for George and Ron and Harry? Should he stop her himself? She made the choice for him as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, ready to go through with it.  
  
Fred screamed and stepped into the compartment. Her tear-stained face turned to him, pain-filled eyes flickered open in surprise as she registered his presence. She dropped the knife, a gasp of shock escaping her lips and she looked down to see a line of crimson appear, the knife forgotten as it dropped to the floor.  
  
He could hear footsteps, someone had heard his cry of alarm. It didn't matter, he rushed forward and kicked the knife to the edge of the car, clamping the edge of his ill-fitting robe over the cut to stop the bleeding. "Cho... it's not the answer..."  
  
Fred didn't know whether or not the girl knew his name. She probably did, most people knew of the pranks the Weasley twins pulled, some knew them first hand. There was no recognition in her eyes as she sobbed, burying an already red face in his shoulder. "Cedric," she moaned, the only words before she was too hysterical to continue.  
  
He looked up. George was standing at the door, along with Professor Dumbledore. Had the Headmaster been on the train the whole time? Fred helped Cho to her feet, unwrapping the hem of his robe to examine the cut. It wasn't deep, just made by accident. The Headmaster stepped forward and took the sobbing Cho from Fred, comforting her as best he could. "I'm glad you were here, Mr. Weasley." The old man lead Cho from the compartment and past a growing crowd of onlookers, most of whom followed the Headmaster.  
  
Fred sunk to one of the benches, shaking, eyes locked on the knife lying forbodingly in the corner. "Hey, Fred..." George sat next to his twin. "Is she going to be alright?"  
  
"Yeah. I think so." Fred slipped off his robes, folding them up. "I got blood on my robes. Do you think Mum will be angry?"  
  
"No. I think she'll get over it just fine."  
  
Fred looked out the window, willing his brother to remain silent. She'd be alright, after a while. They all would, but healing would take a long time. 


	2. Fly Away

Disclaimer: It's not mine! –sniff-  
  
A/N: And, as promised, more of the last. No, there's not a plot, and don't expect one to develop. It doesn't need a plot, it's not supposed to have one.  
  
Fly Away  
  
He heard a scream down the hall of the train and looked up from the game of exploding Snap in surprise. It sounded like... his brother? "That was Fred." George scrambled to his feet, and pushed past Ron and Hermione to the door. With an "accidental" foot in Crabbe's ugly, hexed face, he called back, "Hey, Ron, I'm gonna see what's going on."  
  
Ron called out something in response, which George didn't catch in his dash down the corridor. The train rocked to the side, sending him smashing into a wall. He righted himself and looked into the compartment. Some girl was sitting there with Fred, crying on his shoulder. It took him a moment to see the blood on her wrist, which Fred wrapped with his robe to stop the bleeding. She said something... it was his name, the Hufflepuff Captain, the one who Vol- He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named killed. There was a knife on the ground. Had she done that?  
  
Someone stepped up next to him, looking into the compartment beside him. George spared a glance at him. Headmaster Dumbledore was on the train? He looked back into the compartment and met his twin's gaze as the Headmaster walked in. The old man helped the girl – Cho, was it? – to her feet, said something inaudible to Fred, and led her past George into the hall.  
  
A crowd of students from the other compartments nearby had gathered after Fred's scream. Cho didn't seem to notice them. She kept sobbing, but looked up long enough to meet George's gaze. The look in her eyes... she just looked so lost, George didn't know what to do but look back. Then the moment passed and she was led down the hall, most of the crowd following.  
  
He didn't join them, walking over to sit next to Fred instead. "Hey, Fred... is she going to be alright?"  
  
Fred looked over and finally seemed to realize that his twin was sitting there. He seemed more troubled by the bloodstains on his robe than anything, George wasn't sure what exactly he was thinking... which was odd. He always knew what Fred was thinking, he was supposed to, they were twins. "Yeah. I think so. I got blood on my robes. Do you think Mum will be angry?"  
  
George tried not to look confused. "No. I think she'll get over it just fine." It was only a set of secondhand school robes, why wouldn't she? He caught sight of a knife lying on the floor, the object Fred seemed to be focused on. The edge of it was dark. Blood? Was that the knife Cho had used?  
  
He spared a glance at his brother, though he didn't seem like he wanted to talk. With a quiet sigh, he looked down at his hands to think about everything that had happened. He didn't know Diggory, the guy had been a Hufflepuff after all, but a good captain. They'd smashed the Hufflepuff team every year, but not so badly after Diggory took over.  
  
That was all he knew about the man, though, just Quiddich. He'd had a family and a girlfriend. What was the guy actually like?  
  
Four straight years of Quiddich and nothing else. After getting on the team in his third year, it's all George had thought about. He lived, slept, and breathed Quiddich. Course, there were the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes on the side, but the thing George had wanted more than anything was to be a professional player. Diggory was like that too, he'd heard, but Cedric had a girlfriend. George had taken Katie to the Yule Ball and everything, but he'd never had a real girlfriend, not like Fred and Angelina. He'd lived Quiddich, breathed Quiddich, dreamed Quiddich. Fred had even enchanted George's broom to whisper sweet nothings, during one match with Hufflepuff. He'd laughed so hard that he fell off the broom.  
  
Was Quiddich really everything though? Oliver thought it was, but Cedric hadn't. He'd had a family, and a girlfriend, and a dozen friends to miss him. Sure, if something happened to George, he'd be missed, but had anything he'd done meant anything? Quiddich was all well and good, but when it came down to it, Quiddich was just a game.  
  
"I'm going to go back and find Ron and Harry," George murmured, getting to his feet without checking to see if Fred noticed.  
  
He walked down the hall quietly, but the sound of laughter caught his attention before he made it to the pile of hexed Slytherin. He looked into the compartment to see a few of the other Gryffindor Quiddich players sitting around and chatting, including Katie. He stopped and stared for a moment. She really was quite pretty, and she loved Quiddich as much as he did...  
  
"Hey, George, Alicia thinks the Chudley Cannons are going to win a game this year! Want to bet against her?" Katie grinned in his direction.  
  
"Yeah, count me in. It's been years since they won anything." He tried not to blush, but he felt really strange. "Hey, Katie? Mind if I ask you something?" The fact there were others in the compartment didn't quite register.  
  
"Go ahead, George. Have a seat? I've got an extra Chocolate Frog, if you want one." She smiled and offered it, George couldn't refuse. He sat next to her and tried to ignore the warmth rushing to his cheeks. He probably looked as silly as Ron did whenever Hermione talked to him.  
  
"There's this muggle cinema near my house, do you remember reading about them in Muggle Studies? Well, it's really neat, and I was wondering if, uh... maybe you'd like to go see one sometime?" George tore open the packaging on the chocolate frog and tried not to look up and meet her eyes. Why had he done that? That was stupid, she was going to say no, and he was going to be embarrassed in front of all his friends!  
  
He could hear a giggle from Alicia. Or maybe it was Angelina. Katie must've been making a disgusted face, that was it, she couldn't stand him at all, she must've had a terrible time at the Yule Ball and wanted to get as far away from him as possible –  
  
"I'd love to, George."  
  
He looked up in shock at her answer and she smiled at him. George felt ready to jump out of his seat and scream with joy, but Fred would probably make fun of him for that. "Well... I'll owl you when I get home."  
  
"Well, now that that's settled, you still want to bet against me, Weasley? You'll need some cash to take her out, and when the Cannons win this weekend, you'll be all out of money..." Alicia grinned from across the compartment, breaking the spell George found himself under.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Well, since I'm going to be the one raking in the knuts, I'm not all that worried about it. They'll never win." He laughed and blushed a little as Katie's giggle was added to it, letting himself get swept up in more talk of Quiddich. Maybe Cedric had it right after all. 


	3. Unforgettable

A/N: Sorry it's been a while since I've updated this particular thread. I've been working hard on another story with one of my cohorts – it can be found linked to on my Author Page, titled The World is on Your Shoulders. Without any further adieu (and without disclaimers, which should be rather obvious!), here's part three.  
  
  
  
Unforgettable  
  
  
  
Ginny Weasley caught a glimpse of one of her twin brothers dashing down the corridor after a scream echoed throughout the car. She jumped up; ignoring the confused looks of Colin Creevey and the other Gryffindor soon-to-be- fourth-years sharing the compartment with her, and stepped out into the hall. Down a ways a few dozen students were clustered around a door, more moving toward them. Slytherin stood next to Gryffindor, Hufflepuff by Ravenclaw, none really noticing if a pureblood was talking in hushed tones to a muggle-born.  
  
After a moment, the crowd parted, letting Headmaster Dumbledore through, leading a sobbing dark-haired girl. With a start, Ginny realized it was none other than Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker who'd turned down Harry Potter for the quiet hero of the Triwizard Cup, Cedric. The tears didn't surprise Ginny so much – she'd seen the older girl crying almost daily since Harry had brought back Cedric's body. It was the trickle of blood on the wrist, too slim from lack of food, which sent Ginny gaping.  
  
She looked up to Dumbledore and moved out of the way as the pair moved down the corridor toward her. The Headmaster met her gaze for a second, only sadness and regret present in his eyes. The twinkle of amusement and glint of kindness, which were usually evident, had disappeared entirely. He gave a solemn nod to Ginny and continued guiding Cho down the hall. He stopped short in front of a pile of tangled limbs on the floor in front of one of the compartments, and Ginny watched as he peeked around the corner and called out, "The Jelly-Legs Curse and the Furnunculus together? Quite imaginative. However, I'd appreciate it if you'd not leave them in the middle of the passageway, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley...?" With that, he helped Cho past the crumpled forms of Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle – did Crabbe have little tentacles on his face? – and out the back of the car, probably taking her somewhere to keep an eye on her.  
  
Leaving her compartment completely, Ginny caught a glimpse of Neville Longbottom peeking out of a nearby door. At his confused and questioning glance, she said simply, "Cho." He nodded and disappeared back into his place. Ginny caught a glimpse of Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas talking to Neville as she passed by on her way to the pile of Slytherin.  
  
She made sure to step on Goyle's ugly face and Malfoy's wand arm as she made her way into the compartment, slipping into a seat next to Harry. He was staring out the window, the emotions on his face unreadable. Hermione was doing the same from her seat across the way, while Ron stared down at his hands. "Hey, Gin," he muttered, the only one who seemed to notice her entrance.  
  
Hermione glanced over with a start. "Oh, hi, Ginny. How's your ride been?" She asked it, but didn't wait for the answer, turning back to her examination of the English countryside. Ginny watched her brother glance over at his friend in worry, then turn bright red and return to his examination of his fingernails.  
  
Ron looked as red as Ginny did whenever she was confronted with Harry. The mere thought of the Valentine incident of her first year – damn Lockhart – sent Ginny's face pink as well. But Harry had shown time and time again that he didn't think anything more of Ginny than a little sister, or a friend at best. No, Ginny didn't deserve the Boy Who Lived. Someone special did, like Hermione. Or Cho.  
  
Ginny glanced back at the compartment door, ignoring the Slytherins on the floor. She saw once again in her mind's eye the trickle of dark blood on the girl's pale wrist. What could've been so terrible as to push Cho Chang, Ravenclaw Seeker, popular and well-liked, to do that to herself?  
  
Maybe she hadn't. Maybe she'd just slipped and cut herself. Maybe the scream had been Cho's. There was no reason for someone with so much in her favor to go that far, take that step. Was Cedric really worth that much? Ginny silently thanked whoever had been the screamer, the one who'd found Cho before she'd finished the deed. Remembrance of the look in Dumbledore's eyes was all Ginny needed to dispel the possibility of Cho's wound being anything but self-inflicted.  
  
Glancing over at the profile of Harry's face as he stared morosely out the window, Ginny sighed quietly. Cho had been lucky. She'd had time with Cedric before the end. They'd seemed so happy at the Yule Ball, and every time Ginny saw them smiling at each other in the Great Hall or in a hallway between classes.  
  
She wanted happiness like that. It seemed to her, the true tragedy in the aftermath of Cedric's death wasn't a life cut short – though she was sure the look of heartwrenching helplessness and utter despair she'd seen on Cho's face as the girl realized Cedric was dead would be frozen in her mind for a long time. The true tragedy of the day was the effect losing Cedric Diggory had on everyone at Hogwarts. After all – would the loyal, cheerful man want his friends to dwell on his leaving, or would he want them to make plans and triumph over the evils threatened by the one who caused his death? Ginny was fairly sure the second was the truth, even if she'd never spoken to Cedric directly.  
  
Ginny resisted the urge to hug Harry and start crying. It would probably take him a long time to get over what he'd seen that night. Her tears certainly wouldn't help things any. She only hoped that he'd realize sooner rather than later the lesson Cedric's death should teach. Remember, yes, but keep living. 


End file.
